M-Pesa Charges: Full Sending and Withdrawal Tariffs (With Examples)
M-Pesa's exact 2026 charges to send and withdraw money in Kenya, with Pochi la Biashara rates and limits, checked against Safaricom's own tariff page.
In this guide▾
Most M-Pesa charges are small, which is exactly why they're easy to stop noticing. Sending KES 1,000 costs KES 13, and withdrawing it from an agent costs KES 29. Deposits, buying airtime and checking your balance are free.
Sending to an Airtel Money or T-Kash number costs the same as sending to M-Pesa. Below is Safaricom's full tariff from 4 August 2026, or use our M-Pesa charges calculator for any amount.
How much does M-Pesa charge to send money?
Sending money on M-Pesa is free up to KES 100. Above that, the charge rises in bands. Since Safaricom aligned its tariffs, it costs the same whether you send to another M-Pesa number or to a registered Airtel Money or T-Kash number.
| Amount sent (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 1 – 49 | Free |
| 50 – 100 | Free |
| 101 – 500 | 7 |
| 501 – 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 – 1,500 | 23 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 – 3,500 | 53 |
| 3,501 – 5,000 | 57 |
| 5,001 – 7,500 | 78 |
| 7,501 – 10,000 | 90 |
| 10,001 – 15,000 | 100 |
| 15,001 – 20,000 | 105 |
| 20,001 – 35,000 | 108 |
| 35,001 – 50,000 | 108 |
| 50,001 – 250,000 | 108 |
Two things to notice. First, the charge stops rising at KES 108 once you send more than KES 20,000, so sending KES 50,000 in one go costs the same as KES 20,001. Second, splitting a payment to get a cheaper band doesn't work: two transfers of KES 500 cost KES 7 each (KES 14 in total), more than one transfer of KES 1,000 at KES 13. Send it in one go. The KES 108 cap only applies within Kenya. Sending to a Tanzanian number through Lipa na M-Pesa Pay Bill 255255 has its own tariff of KSh 3 to KSh 220, covered in our M-Pesa Tanzania charges guide.
Curious what you've paid in charges over the past months? Our M-Pesa statement analyzer totals them from your own statement.
How much does M-Pesa charge to withdraw cash?
Withdrawals from an M-Pesa agent follow their own bands, and you can't withdraw less than KES 50 at an agent at all.
| Amount withdrawn (KES) | Agent charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 50 – 100 | 11 |
| 101 – 2,500 | 29 |
| 2,501 – 3,500 | 52 |
| 3,501 – 5,000 | 69 |
| 5,001 – 7,500 | 87 |
| 7,501 – 10,000 | 115 |
| 10,001 – 15,000 | 167 |
| 15,001 – 20,000 | 185 |
| 20,001 – 35,000 | 197 |
| 35,001 – 50,000 | 278 |
| 50,001 – 250,000 | 309 |
Is it cheaper to withdraw at an ATM instead of an agent?
No, not under the current tariff. Safaricom's ATM withdrawal charges are either the same as an agent or more expensive, band for band:
| Amount withdrawn (KES) | ATM charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 200 – 2,500 | 35 |
| 2,501 – 5,000 | 69 |
| 5,001 – 10,000 | 115 |
| 10,001 – 35,000 | 203 |
Withdraw KES 5,000 at an agent and you pay KES 69, the same as at an ATM. Withdraw KES 15,000 at an agent and you pay KES 167, but at an ATM the same amount falls in the 10,001–35,000 band at KES 203, which is KES 36 more. ATMs are a backup for when an agent has no cash or it's the middle of the night, not a way to save money. They also limit you to KES 35,000 per withdrawal, against an agent's KES 250,000.
What does M-Pesa charge for Pochi la Biashara and Lipa na M-Pesa?
Paying a Pochi la Biashara merchant (the personal wallet many small traders use as a till) has had a temporary discount: free up to KES 200, then reduced rates, for three months from 1 August 2026. It was due to end around the end of October 2026, so check whether it's still running before you rely on it.
| Amount paid (KES) | Charge to Pochi la Biashara (KES) |
|---|---|
| 0 – 200 | Free |
| 201 – 500 | 7 |
| 501 – 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 – 1,500 | 23 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 – 250,000 | 50 |
For how to register, withdraw straight from your Pochi wallet and what to do if you send money to the wrong Pochi number, see our full Pochi la Biashara guide.
If you run a Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods till, receiving payments is free up to KES 500, then 0.55% up to KES 36,363, and a flat KES 200 above that. The customer pays nothing either way. Moving money from the till to your personal M-Pesa or to a paybill got cheaper from 7 August 2026, when Safaricom cut those charges by close to half, in line with the Central Bank of Kenya's pricing principles. If you're working out the costs of a shop that will use a till, our mini-supermarket business plan guide has the full breakdown.
M-Pesa transaction limits
- Maximum single transaction: KES 250,000.
- Maximum daily transaction total: KES 500,000.
- Maximum M-Pesa account balance: KES 500,000.
- Minimum agent withdrawal: KES 50.
Need to move more than KES 250,000, or just pay less? Bank to bank, PesaLink sends up to KES 999,999 in one transfer, and KCB, Co-op Bank, NCBA and most other banks now charge a flat KES 20 for anything above KES 1,000. Check what your bank charges with our PesaLink charges calculator, or see how to use PesaLink to send by phone number.
Mistakes that cost you money on M-Pesa
- Sent money to the wrong number, paybill or till? You can start a reversal by forwarding the confirmation SMS to 456, but it isn't automatic. See our guide on reversing M-Pesa sent to the wrong number, paybill or till for what to do next and how long you have.
- Agents can't deposit into someone else's account. A cash deposit can only go into your own registered M-Pesa account. If an agent offers to deposit into another person's number for you, that's against Safaricom's rules and a common scam setup.
- Don't split transfers to save money. As shown above, two smaller transfers almost always cost more than one larger one.
- Getting paid from abroad? Fees depend on the route your money takes before it reaches your M-Pesa wallet. See our guides on receiving payments via Payoneer and M-Pesa and withdrawing PayPal to M-Pesa.
- Paying a government bill through M-Pesa, like your SHIF/SHA contribution, costs the standard paybill charges above. There's no discount for paying the taxman or a statutory fund.
- Paying a private medical insurance premium by paybill also costs the standard charges above. See what insurers charge for medical insurance in Kenya before you add the paybill fee to your budget.
- Short of money when you need to send or pay? Fuliza covers the gap, but it has its own access fee and daily charges on top of the M-Pesa charges above. See how Fuliza charges work and why some limits stay at 0.
All the figures above are from Safaricom's own M-Pesa tariff page, published and last updated 4 August 2026, checked in October 2026, with the Pochi la Biashara promotion timeline corroborated by Standard Media's coverage of the August 2026 fee changes. Charges can change; if a figure here ever looks off, check Safaricom's tariff page directly or dial *234# and follow the tariff query option, and look for other guides for the rest of your money questions on our Kenya hub. M-Pesa outside Kenya is priced differently: in Lesotho, Vodacom's M-Pesa charges switch to a percentage above M5,000.
Sent money to the wrong number by mistake? Here is how to reverse an M-Pesa transaction, and what businesses pay is in our guide to paybill and till charges.
Frequently asked questions
How much does M-Pesa charge to send KES 1,000?
Sending KES 1,000 to another M-Pesa number, or to a registered Airtel Money or T-Kash number, costs KES 13 under the current tariff.
Is M-Pesa free to send below KES 100?
Yes. Any transfer of KES 100 or less is free, whether you send to an M-Pesa, Airtel Money or T-Kash number.
Does M-Pesa charge for deposits?
No. Depositing cash into your own M-Pesa account at an agent is free, as is registration, buying airtime through M-Pesa, checking your balance and changing your PIN.
Is it cheaper to withdraw from an ATM or an M-Pesa agent?
An M-Pesa agent is cheaper or the same price as an ATM at every amount, and agents let you withdraw up to KES 250,000 in one go against an ATM's KES 35,000 cap. Use an ATM only when there's no agent with enough cash float nearby.
What's the maximum amount I can send or hold on M-Pesa?
You can send up to KES 250,000 in a single transaction, up to KES 500,000 a day in total, and hold a maximum balance of KES 500,000 in your M-Pesa account.
How much is Pochi la Biashara?
Paying a Pochi la Biashara merchant has been free up to KES 200, then rising in bands to a flat KES 50 above KES 2,500, under an offer that ran for three months from 1 August 2026. Check that it's still running before you rely on it.
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